Marc Ó Sé has called it a day with Kerry - a tribute

When he was six years old, Marc O Se was lifted on to a trailer in Ventry.

His eyes widened as he looked around him.

There they stood, side by side, the Golden Years boys and the man who made them, Mick O'Dwyer.

It was 1985 and Marc's uncle Paidi had captained Kerry to yet another All-Ireland final win over Dublin.

At the front of the trailer was Sam Maguire - or what Paidi always called 'the canister'.

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One by one, the players lifted it above their heads and the people of west Kerry roared their approval.

In time, Marc O Se would get his own hands on the canister.

He walks off into the sunset with five All-Irelands to his name, and an extraordinary 88 Championship appearances.

That puts him level with his brother, Tomas.

And another of the clan, Darragh, managed 81.

Sums up the astonishing contribution to Kerry football by a remarkable family. The uncle Paidi was decent too...

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To try and get a handle on the O Ses, you have to know where they come from.

Two things bind the people of west Kerry together - the passion for football and the love of the Irish language.

On the pitch, the O Ses would speak only Irish to each other. It was one of the many things that bind them together.

None of the brothers live there anymore but home for the O Ses will always be Church Cross, four miles west of Dingle.

Marc lives in Tralee now but, in the run-up to big games, he’d often drive west, park up and then take a long walk past the slopes of Mount Eagle, around Slea Head
and then turning his face to Dunquin.

He’ll drink in the place he comes from and bring it with him to Jones’s Road.

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"It's definitely an atmosphere that suits me. I love west Kerry, just love the area. I'd swim in the sea, do a lot of walking,’’ he once said.

Seamus Moynihan, someone who knows a thing or two about the craft, has described Tomas and Marc O Se as ''the two best defenders of the past decade''.

Marc O Se proved himself to be a prototype modern corner-back. Sticky when he needed to be. Stylish and elegant on the ball. Aware of when he was needed to drive forward.

He's no angel either. There have never been many angels in the O Se family.

While he was still playing alongside them, current manager Eamon Fitzmaurice summed them up.

“I’d be close to the three brothers and they’re great fun and great company,'' he said.

The rogue thing is just who they are. It would be part of their make-up.

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"Darragh is the biggest rogue, no question. But Marc would run him close. Tomás is a rogue in a quieter way."

They tested themselves in the garden in fiercely contested games against each other as kids.

Fergal, the eldest, and Darragh, Tomas and Marc.

When Fergal went to college, they had to change the rules.

One would go in goal. The other two would lock horns.

Darragh had four years and a few inches on Marc, so he was only allowed to kick with his left boot.

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It forced Marc to think on his feet. Again and again, he'd try and force Darragh on to his right, trying to frustrate him.

"Darragh wrote in his book I was usually crying half the time," Marc has recalled.

"What he didn't write was how myself and Tomas ran rings around him."

The west Kerry car, with Paidi driving then to county training, was their football university. Their finishing school.

It took Marc a while to get his chance.

Wore the jersey in trial matches in 2000. Sat on the bench the following year.

Paidi's advice to Marc was to watch and listen. "Go in there with Moynihan. You might learn something."